Brunei: Brunei Halal has potential in Halal Cosmetics

The Embassy of South Korea is keen to facilitate the discussion of the use of Brunei's Halal brand in Korean cosmetic products, said the South Korean Ambassador to Brunei.

In an email interview with The Brunei Times, Ambassador of South Korea to Brunei His Excellency Choi Byung-Koo, pointed out that the world halal market is enormous and getting bigger as global Muslim population continues to increase.

“Here, I see a potential for cooperation between Korea and Brunei in cosmetic industry. Korea’s technique combined with Brunei’s halal reputation can create the best combination to compete in the blue ocean market of halal cosmetics.”

He said that he had held discussions with key people in the halal industry, including Ghanim (the company managing marketing of the Brunei Halal brand), BEDB (Brunei Economic Development Board), and MIPR(Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources), and that he had sent letters to major Korean cosmetic companies to let them know about the potential for cooperation with Brunei.

“Some companies showed interest. And there might be business coming in. My embassy will do its best to assist facilitating the cooperation in this area,” he said.


He also noted that Korean cosmetic products are very popular and well received in Brunei, noting many Korean cosmetic shops such as Laniege, Face Shop, Skin Food, Skin79, Etude, Holika Holika and Tony Molyhave been established in the country.

After speaking to owners and staff of those companies, he noted that the variety and high quality of the Korean cosmetic products were the reason behind their popularity.

“World wide popularity of Korean cosmetic products is also backed by the surge of K-pop and Korean dramas. This also led to the people’s interest to know more about Korea’s culture and society.”

He said that he viewed Brunei as a nature loving country, “second-to-none,” and by having best-preserved forest and biodiversity, Brunei also has a huge potential in pharmaceutical and cosmetics industry.

The ambassador noted that “Brunei’s pure and advanced image boosted Brunei’s international standing for Halal Brand”.

Earlier in June this year, A memorandum of understanding was signed between Universiti BruneiDarussalam and Gyeonggi Institute of Science and Technology Promotion, a South Korean commercial research institute, to utilise Brunei’s local biodiversity for potential commercial products such as pharmaceuticals and cosmetics.

By Koo Jin Shen, Brunei Times

WE INVITE ALL MUSLIMS TO HALAL WORLD FORUM 2012 FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD

After 8th and 9th. General Assembly Meeting of WHC in Istanbul/Turkey, 10th General Assembly Meeting of the World Halal Council (WHC) will be held on 23 & 24 November 2012 in Manila, Philippines.
We are pleased to inform you that the 10th General Assembly Meeting of the World Halal Council (WHC),the global federation of Halal Certifiers is scheduled for the first time in Manila, Philippines on 23 & 24 November2012 at the Shangri-la Hotel in Makati City, Philippines.
The Islamic Da’wah Council of the Philippines, Inc. (IDCP) is hosting this event, and, in addition, a 2-day Halal World Forum (HWF) 2012 for Halal manufacturers, suppliers, rdealers, academe and consumes is also being organized on 21 & 22 November 2012 in order to have a harmonious meeting and dialogue between the producers, consumers and certifiers around the world.
In connection with the 2-day Halal World Forum, we are pleased to extend our cordial invitation to you and your organization to participate in this meeting and business matching event.
The hotel venue is at the business center of Makati City, which is conveniently located for your business and pleasure during your stay in the Philippines.
Considering that we have limited the number of participants to only 500, the participant’s registration as well as hotel accommodation is on a “first come first serve “ basis in which IDCP will be happy to assist you.

ATTY. ABDUL RAHMAN R. T. LINZAG
President/CEO
Islamic Da’wah Council of the Philippines, Inc. (IDCP)
Member, Executive Committee – World Halal Council (WHC)

Engro Foods Canada set to make profit next year

Engro Foods Canada is poised to post a profit next year by increasing availability of its halal meat product line in major chains of retail outlets across the North American continent, Engro Foods CEO Afnan Ahsan said on Wednesday.
The total size of the halal meat market in North America, which includes Canada and the United States, is estimated at $290 billion.
Al Safa Halal is a halal meat brand of Engro Foods Canada and its subsidiary Engro Foods USA, LLC. The brand existed for over 10 years before it was acquired by Engro Foods in May 2011, a first-of-its-kind offshore venture ever undertaken by a Pakistani conglomerate in the $632 billion global foods business.
So far, Al Safa Halal is running in loss. It posted a loss after tax of Canadian $313,000 for January-March 2012, according to Engro Corporation’s directors’ report to the shareholders.
“The total revenue for the first half of 2012 is C$5.8 million,” Ahsan told The Express Tribune, adding that the company is expected to become profitable in 2013.
Current losses are not reflected in the financial performance of Engro Foods. Rather, they are consolidated in Engro Corporation’s financial statements in view of the prevailing corporate laws, according to which a company must remain profitable for three years before acquiring an offshore entity.
“From next year onwards, books of Engro Foods will show the financial performance of Al Safa Halal separately,” he said.
The Halal meat market in North America is highly fragmented, according to Ahsan. Top 10 players collectively have less than 15% share of the Halal meat market, he added. In the segments of chicken, beef, pizza and vegetable, Al Safa Halal currently offers 18 products in Canada and 21 products in the US.
Its presence in the US is clearly not as strong as in Canada, although the former is a 10 times bigger market than the latter. While Al Safa Halal products are available in the outlets of at least 12 leading retail chains across all major cities of Canada, they are available in the US mostly through ethnic stores. The reason for its deeper footprint in Canada is that Al Safa Halal was originally a Canadian company, Ahsan said.
Still, roughly 80% business of Al Safa Halal in Canada comes from ethnic stores. “First-generation immigrants tend to buy food from ethnic stores. But their second generation, which is more integrated into the mainstream society, is likely to buy food from major retail outlets,” he noted.
Estimates say that 83% of all food purchases in North America are carried out in major retail stores. Al Safa Halal aims to increase the share of major retail outlets in its revenues in Canada to 50% in the next five years.
In the US market, however, its products are available mainly in the tri-state area of New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. New markets for Al Safa Halal in the US are Chicago, Los Angeles and major cities of Texas, which have a concentration of Muslim population.
Among the top five North America-based management positions in Engro Foods, four are held by people of Pakistani origin. The only white Canadian, who is chief operations officer, was retained by Engro Corporation upon its acquisition of Al Safa Halal, where he had already been working in the sales division.
“Of the 27 people Engro employs in North America, we have people from Iran, Sudan, Ethiopia and Venezuela. I think three or four of them are non-Muslims,” he said, adding that the company is an equal opportunity employer.

Still many Muslim restaurants preparing food without halal logo Read more: http://www.theborneopost.com/2012/08/07/still-many-muslim-restaurants-preparing-food-without-halal-logo-nasir/#ixzz22qTaYnlw

KOTA KINABALU: There is still a handful of Muslim restaurants found to be preparing food with Al-Quran verses without the halal logo in their premises.
Minister in the Chief Minister’s Department Datuk Nasir Tun Sakaran said a recent survey conducted by enforcement personnel found that those restaurants did not have any halal logo certified by the relevant authority.
“I advise these restaurant owners not to display the Quran verses if they have not been certified and issued with the halal logo and certificate to prevent any confusion to the public, especially to the Muslim community,” he said during a joint inspection with the State Islamic Religious Affairs Department (Jheains) and the Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumer Affairs Department in Sinsuran Complex here yesterday.
According to Nasir, about 30 percent of the 390 Muslim premises such as restaurants and those selling consumer products in the state have been certified and have the halal logo from Jheains.
He said most of the restaurant owners assumed that they need not have to apply for the halal certificate because they are Muslim and only sell halal food.
Nasir added that the matter had been looked into and the need for a halal logo had been enforced since January 1 this year to ensure all Muslim restaurants applied for the halal certificate to prevent any confusion.
“As of January 1, about 80 halal certificates have been issued to Muslim restaurant owners throughout the state,” he said.

Thailand: Sri Lankan Halal products look for global reach

The All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama Halaal Division (ACJU- HD) headed by As Sheikh Mufti Rizwe recently visited the Central Islamic Council of Thailand which is responsible for Thailand Halal Food Production and the Halal Science Centre at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok,” the ACJU-HD said in a statement.
“Thailand currently exports 312 Million US dollars of Halal Food and Cosmetic Products annually and is planning on a 40 percent increase year on year. The Global Market for Halal Food and Cosmetic Products is in the region of 1 Trillion US dollars per annum.
“The Government of Thailand has appointed the Central Islamic Council of Thailand (CICOT) to be responsible for the Institute of Halal Food Standards in Thailand. The Halal Science Centre at Chulalongkorn University has a world class Halal science laboratory in the heart of Bangkok. The Laboratory is fully equipped with a variety of advanced and sophisticated scientific instruments to perform testing to ensure an item is halal.
“Currently the ACJU- HD is in the process of signing a memorandum of understanding with both CICOT and the Halal Science Center to ensure all products locally certified by the ACJU – HD have global recognition. This agreement will enable Sri Lankan Halal certified products to have a Global reach, thus enabling Sri Lankan exports to also have a share in the Trillion Dollar Food and Cosmetic Market,” the statement said.